Pouring into the Community

How One Raleigh Café is Modeling the Gospel to Patrons

John and Jeanne Luther, 2003 MDIV in Theological Studies (John)

Owners, Sola Coffee Café, Raleigh, NC

Business owners John and Jeanne Luther believe welcoming customers into Sola Coffee Café is like welcoming them into their home. They have seen how good food and drink lift spirits and bring people together in a unique way. The Luthers have also seen how running Sola has given them a platform to love the Raleigh community and point people to Christ.

“If you want to be strategic, enter a city and live out the gospel, a coffee shop is perfect,” said John. “You could go anywhere in the world and open up a shop and begin the process of loving people with an intentional desire of discussing who God is and who Jesus is. Food and drink over a table create an emotional interaction that you just don’t get anywhere else.”

The smell of espresso, the sound of milk steaming and the aroma of food from the kitchen fills the Sola dining room as employees bustle back and forth to fill orders on a brisk, sunny day. It’s here at Sola that business is still running as usual despite the ongoing pandemic. But while customers still line up for Sola’s delicious hot mini donuts, Counter Culture coffee and mouthwatering lunches, the seats inside the beautifully decorated café are empty. It’s a sight that makes Jeanne Luther tear up just talking about it.

Sola has become an integral part of the community, coming together over delicious food and coffee, and yet so much more. John and Jeanne have made every effort to get to know the customers who walk through their doors, walking from table to table and catching up with regulars. It’s the everyday interactions over the past nine years that have made the difference. Even with the indoor café closed, John and Jeanne still wave through the window as they see familiar faces standing in line. When they pull up to the café in the mornings with their golden retriever Buddy, they have opportunities to interact with customers who continue supporting this local business they love as they sit bundled in their coats and blankets.

Opening Sola wasn’t the Luther’s first attempt at running a business, though. Back in the 90s while living in Severna Park, Maryland, the couple opened up Chesapeake Bagel Bakery. The Luthers, who were fairly new believers by the time they married in 1989, grew in their intentionality to let their faith intersect with the way they ran the business and cared for customers. John remembers being particularly impacted by John Piper’s book, “Let the Nations Be Glad,” realizing that God had called him to be intentional to love people in his own back yard. Chesapeake Bagel Bakery was the perfect outlet to do that.

If God was to be glorified in all things, then running a business was to be a part of that.

While running the business, John had the opportunity to take on pastoral responsibilities at church as well. In the process, he began developing a heart for vocational ministry. That’s when he started considering Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) to pursue his MDiv. In August of 2000, the Luthers sold their business, packed up their belongings and left their home of 12 years to move down south to seminary. In 2003 after graduating from SEBTS, John began serving at Christ Covenant Church in Raleigh, where he pastored alongside Tom Mercer overseeing missions and discipleship for the church.

John looks back on his time at SEBTS as one of building “a framework and a foundation of a life of learning.” As he served in the church and pursued the MDiv, he developed a deeper understanding of the importance of the local church. In addition, the friendships with peers, professors and fellow pastors sharpened him spiritually and still do to this day.

In 2011, John began to sense the Lord calling him out of vocational ministry to be more present with his family. Through much prayer by John, Jeanne and the elders at Christ Covenant, the decision for John to step down was unanimous. John had been working for the church full-time for years and started to question how he would earn a living. Drawing back on his bagel days in Maryland, he began to think about starting another business—but this time it would be in coffee.

Members of Christ Covenant played an integral role in helping the Luthers start up their business, starting with an advisory team of accountants and MBAs who could help them develop a successful business plan for Sola.

In 2012, Sola opened its doors to the public. While the Luthers don’t publicly identify Sola as a Christian café, they seek for Sola to be a place where all people are welcome and where customers can experience the love of Christ through good coffee and intentional conversations. As John puts it, “Sola exists for the gospel.”

It’s a lot easier to invite people to walk through the front doors of a coffee shop than through the front doors of a church.

John has seen this firsthand through patrons like Tim, a Jewish customer he befriended at the café. One day while Sola, Tim informed John that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. This prompted John to ask him how he coped with such heartbreaking news. Through their conversation, John invited Tim to read through the Gospel of John with him.

That’s why décor in the café like the sign that reads “Love is Here” isn’t just for looks. It’s a testimony to the warm spirit found in the way the Luthers, Sola employees and customers care for one another. Before the pandemic, Sola hosted a number of café events to bring the community together from pop-up markets with local vendors to live music from local musicians. As the Luthers have poured into their community, they have also seen how the community is caring for them. Despite the pandemic, the couple said they have not laid off any of their 30 employees.

“We have poured into Raleigh, loving them, making this great space for them to enjoy and call their second home with great food and coffee,” said Jeanne. “But I feel like the community has now poured into us.”

Customers and employees have supported Jeanne through her battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which she was diagnosed with back in 2018. The past two years, the café’s annual Hot Mini 5k has raised money to support ALS research. The five races prior to 2018 raised money to support the Wounded Warriors Project, but when the Luthers found out Jeanne’s diagnosis with ALS, the community rallied around her with support. The Luthers saw the largest amount of participation and fundraising this past year, with 900 runners and $94,000 raised.

John and Jeanne at Sola, pouring into their community with gospel intentionality, one cup of coffee at a time.

“God’s using ALS in a way that is hard for us but very sweet,” said John. “It’s very easy to have conversations with people. They can’t push back when we’re talking about having a joy that transcends ALS. Yes, we’re sad. Yes, we get frustrated. Yes, it’s hard. But our hope is seeing Christ face to face in a new heavens and a new earth where this stuff will be gone.”